Issue Date:12/22/2008
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Issue Date:12/22/2008
For years, NOFMA and NWFA have worked independently on industry projects, Korczak says. Discussions about merging the two organizations had been held at various points over the years and began again last May. "More and more, we saw ourselves in the same places having the same statements in the same meetings, and it made sense that we should work as one group," Korczak says.
With the consolidation, NOFMA's grading standards will remain and will continue to be called "NOFMA" grades. "NOFMA is almost 100 years old and did a lot of work to get here. We want to give credit where credit is due," Korczak says. Keeping the NOFMA name also will eliminate any confusion regarding existing architectural specifications calling for NOFMA grades, he says.
The consolidation will also expand the grading program. "Now every member of NWFA who's a U.S. solid wood flooring manufacturer ... can apply for the NOFMA seal," Korczak explains. The NOFMA staff will continue to conduct plant inspections, but as NWFA employees. Additionally, those inspectors will be available to provide independent verification of manufacturers' proprietary grades. Korczak expects the expansion of the NOFMA grading program to benefit the industry as a whole. "The beauty of it is that by setting the standards and holding people to them, you can make sure there's a level of performance throughout the industry," Korczak says. "For those who don't meet them, buyer beware."
NWFA Holds Manufacturers Assembly The NWFA held a Wood Flooring Manufacturers Assembly at the NWFA headquarters in St. Louis Dec. 16-17 to address issues facing solid and engineered wood flooring manufacturers. More than 50 representatives from manufacturers attended, and experts from many organizations, including the Forest Stewardship Council U.S. (FSC-US), Scientific Certification Systems, the Rainforest Alliance and the Hardwood Plywood Veneer Association, presented. Deb Hawkinson, executive director of the Hardwood Federation, spoke about the Lacey Act amendment prohibiting illegal logging. Other topics included new CARB (California Air Resources Board) regulations regarding formaldehyde emissions set to take effect Jan. 1, and the NWFA's new Responsible Procurement Program (RPP), which is a tiered program recognizing manufacturers as they take steps to ensure higher levels of social and environmental responsibility. The RPP has the support of the FSC; as a result of the meeting, 14 NWFA manufacturer members requested licensing agreements to begin participating in the RPP.
Manufacturer News Vermont Natural Coatings' (Harwick, Vt.) PolyWhey finish was selected as one of BuildingGreen.com's 2008 Top-10 Green Building Products by the editors of Environmental Building News and GreenSpec. These awards recognize innovative green building products added to the GreenSpec Directory during the past year.
Teragren Bamboo Flooring, Panels & Veneer (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) has opened a new manufacturing facility in Longyou, China. The plant manufactures Teragren's Synergy bamboo flooring line.
Dealer/Contractor News Mr. Sandless (Aston, Pa.) recently opened locations in Denver; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Grand Forks, N.D.; Richmond, Va.; Kitchener, Ontario and New Brunswick, N.J. New locations for 2009 will include San Diego; Phoenix; and Winnipeg, Manitoba. The company specializes in refinishing wood flooring without sanding.
People News Cikel America LLC (Miami) has added new sales representatives. Jorge Rodriguez will cover Miami and Florida's east coast. Joe English, who recently worked at Hoboken Floors for 21 years, will cover Florida's west coast and panhandle, southern Alabama, New Orleans and Mississippi. Doug Brooks will represent Cikel in Georgia, Kentucky and portions of Tennessee. Jay Ross will cover both North and South Carolina, parts of Tennessee, and Virginia. Ed Alexander will represent Cikel in Richmond, Va.; Norfolk, Va.; Washington D.C. and Baltimore. Scott Sebastian will cover Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York City, and Long Island. Mark Kolbe will represent Cikel in upstate New York and New England. For more information, call 305/742-2219 or visit www.cikel.com.br.
By the Numbers November single-family housing starts fell to a new record low: 441,000, nearly 17 percent lower than the October figure of 531,000, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. This is the lowest level since the Commerce Department started keeping track in 1959. Building permits for single-family units fell about 12 percent from 470,000 to 412,000. Overall housing starts declined 18.9 percent to 625,000, while the issuance of building permits declined 15.6 percent to 616,000. These figures are down 47 percent and 48.1 percent, respectively, from the prior year.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), which measures current sales conditions of single-family homes, remained unchanged in December at 9, an all-time low that was reached in November. The HMI measures three components: perceptions of current single-family home sales, expectations throughout the next six months and prospective-buyer traffic. The index gauging current sales conditions fell to 8. The index gauging traffic of prospective buyers held at 7, a record low. Meanwhile, the index gauging sales expectations in the next six months fell to 16, a new record low.
In Memoriam Guillermo Fernandez passed away at age 90 on Nov. 11 in Mexico City. He was founder and president of Pisos Alfer, one of the largest flooring manufacturers in Mexico. He introduced both paperface parquet and prefinished flooring to Mexico. He was chairman of the board of Kentucky Wood Floors from 1987 to 1991 and a noted international businessman. He is survived by his wife, Ampara, and their four children.
On the Web East Teak Fine Hardwoods Inc. (Sultan, Wash.) has launched www.certifiedhardwoods.com to highlight its eco-friendly line of hardwood products. The site features both FSC-certified and post-consumer recycled products.
BLC Hardwood Flooring LLC (Macon, Ga.) has a new Web site at www.floorsforlife.com. The site features the company's Homestead Collection of factory-finished floors and includes sections on company history, installation guidelines, floor care tips, available marketing materials and contact information. A distributor locator will soon be added.
The Power Tool Institute (Cleveland) has launched its newly revamped Web site, www.powertoolinstitute.com. The new site is a user-friendly resource for power tool safety with simple navigation, online ordering of publications and easy-to-view videos.
Mark Your Calendar The NWFA will hold an Intermediate Installation and Sand & Finish School Jan. 21-23 at its training facility in St. Louis. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.nwfa.org.
Lon Musolf Distributing Inc. (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) will host a Sand and Finish school along with Basic Coatings on Jan. 27-28. Led by Basic Coatings' National Training Manager Rob Johnson, students can earn 2 NWFA credits for attending. For more information, contact Josh Neuberger at [email protected] or 262/308-9126.
Job Watch Tom Peotter is seeking a position in the millwork or wood flooring industries. He was formerly the president of Historic Floors of Oshkosh, in Winneconne, Wis., and was recently the technical director for Oshkosh Designs. Peotter has many years of professional contacts and is a proactive sales, marketing and technical director. He can be reached at [email protected] or 920/379-5906.
NWFA Member Services The NWFA 2009 Wood Floor of the Year Contest is underway. The contest is open to NWFA member companies only. Each member is limited to three entries total. The entries can be in the same category, or in different categories; however, each floor can be entered into the contest only one time. There is no entry fee. The deadline is January 16, 2009. For an entry form or more information, visit www.nwfa.org and click on the Convention & Expo link.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! Happy Holidays to all! In lieu of holiday cards this year, Hardwood Floors has made a donation in the name of our customers to the Second Harvest Food Bank, a Madison, Wis.-based organization that provides food for the less fortunate.